Show me your electric fan conversion

[austinado16]

Newbie here. Just upgraded to the big block radiator from the original small block radiator in my '90 Burb. The BB fan shroud stops just prior to the fan blades, so I'm going to need to make an extension about 3-4" long, in order to bring the shroud out past the blades the way the OE shroud was built.

So the question was raised, "Why not convert to electric fans?"

Been thinking about doing that for a while, but have concerns about whether or not they're able to keep up with the heat load of towing in the mountains, at low speeds, in 90-115*F outside air temps. The Burb's not a daily driver, it's a tower and a hauler so I need it to handle the extremes of our towing a camper on camping trips, where many times we're on a windy 2 lane highway, pulling 7% grades at 25-35mph, in the heat.

Is it as simple as: "Go grab a set of fans off a 2010 and you're good to go" or is there more to it?

So lets hear from you......even if it's to say, "BTDT, here's my thread."

 

[smurph20]

I know its not the same but i got a efan on my S10. Im using an aftermarket unit from Advance auto and a fan controller. With the efan and a 180 T-stat it never gets even close to being 200. I got the controller set to were it comes on at 185 and shuts off at 160 truck runs great.

 

[austinado16]

Was just looking at the Flex-A-Lite dual fan products on Summit Racing.

The No. 295 is 17-1/2" tall x 27-1/2" wide and moves 4,600cfm at 28amps......for $460!!

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The accompanying installation video says it "saves" 17hp and 20 ft/lbs of torque.

My core is 19" x 28" so this would be a pretty nice fit. Too bad it's nearly $500.

Here's another model (No. 298), same size and CFM, but $370

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[smurph20]

Yea i spent 80 bucks maybe

 

[wildcatjason]

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50 bucks for the fan off eBay. 30 for the overflow and I made the shroud.

 

[wildcatjason]

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50 bucks for the fan off eBay. 30 for the overflow and I made the shroud.

This one is from a ford taurus on my 88 burb.

 

[bucket]

My '77 K5 has Windstar dual fans and a cheap controller from Autozone that is adjustable. It works well for the cost involved and never had trouble keeping cool in August stop-n-go traffic. I have pictures somewhere...

 

[skysurfer]

The shroud needs to cover 70% of the radiator's surface area at a minimum. If you look at the stock shroud you will see it funnels air across 100% of the radiator. A flat plate against the radiator doesn't allow air to flow through.

The Mk viii fans are considered some of the best junkyard finds for switching to electric, but with your new full-width radiator you'll need to put some thought into how to create air flow across the entire surface area. I think you're on the right track with a dual fan setup, either pre-fabbed as pictured or two separate fans mounted side by side.

Here's a good article if you don't mind liberal use of the F-word.

http://www.fordmuscle.com/archives/2006/10/Mark8Fan/

 

[austinado16]

The core on this BB radiator is the same dimension is the SB core was.....19" tall and 28-1/2" wide. So that $470 Flex-A-Lite twin fan set up just about as perfect as it gets.

Gonna go take a look at that Ford article right now....

......Great write up and nice fan! Did I miss it, or does he not give the dimensions? Anyone know the dimmension of the overall shroud, and just the diameter of the shroud where the fan is. I'd be pretty cool to just mount that thing right in the existing shroud opening, and get 100% draw through the radiator. Or am I on the crack pipe?

 

[crazy4offroad]

My '77 K5 has Windstar dual fans and a cheap controller from Autozone that is adjustable. It works well for the cost involved and never had trouble keeping cool in August stop-n-go traffic. I have pictures somewhere...

http://shawnville.com/chevelle/dual-fans/

 

[bucket]

http://shawnville.com/chevelle/dual-fans/

Yep, that's them. They cover nearly the entire radiator if you have the shorter core like mine. The taller rad will have a few inches of core hanging below the fans.

 

[crazy4offroad]

I've been reading about it and I'm getting more interested in the Lincoln Mk 8 fan that can move 4,000 CFM of air. Wish I could find model years for these fans. Cant really take a tape measure and just go checking them all till you find the right year that will fit. (Junkyard owners around here are asses)

 

[skysurfer]

MK 8 fans

Year: '93-'98

Dimensions: 22"W x 18.5"H x 6.25"D.

Draw: 33 amps continuous, over 100 amps on startup.

 

[austinado16]

What's the diameter of the Mark 8 right around the fan? Could just this portion be installed in the round opening of our OE shrouds so we'd get 100% draw through our radiators?

 

[skysurfer]

The fan itself is 18". I was thinking the same thing, grafting the e-fan to the existing shroud might be the way to go